After enticement by state and local governments, Apple has chosen the town of …

Share this story

It seems as though all those tax code changes that the North Carolina legislature passed in an effort to attract Apple to build a data center in a economically distressed area of the state has paid off. Yesterday afternoon, officials for the town of Maiden, as well Catawba County, announced that Apple has chosen to locate a new facility in the area.

Last month the state legislature passed a bill that offers tax cuts to companies that agree to invest $1 billion within nine years, locate within North Carolina's poorest regions, provide health insurance to its workers, offer a minimum working wage standard, and forego other tax breaks. The tax breaks are designed to attract employers to bring new jobs to the state, which has some areas experiencing unemployment rates nearly double the national average.

After NC Governor Beverly Perdue signed the bill into law, she announced that Apple had chosen North Carolina to locate a new data center it planned to build. "North Carolina continues to be a prime location for growing and expanding global technology companies," said Perdue at the time. "We welcome Apple to North Carolina and look forward to working with the company as it begins providing a significant economic boost to local communities and the state."

Apple chose the town of Maiden, located in Catawba County. The area has suffered from a 15 percent unemployment rate due to a number of recent manufacturing layoffs, and the construction and operation of the data center will bring a number of jobs—about 300 construction jobs and at least 50 and as many as 100 full-time jobs once the facility becomes operational. It is estimated that the facility could be responsible for as many as 3,000 jobs in the regional economy, including construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility itself, as well as indirectly as a result of spurred economic growth.

In addition to the estimated $46 million in tax breaks that Apple will get as a result of the law changes over the next decade, the local city and county governments offered Apple additional incentives to the tune of $21 million, also spread out over the next ten years. If Apple operates the data center for as long as 30 years, state corporate tax breaks could amount to as much as $300 million.